The subject matter described herein generally relates to faceted search tools for searching semi-structured data stored in one or more computer databases. Faceted search (navigation or browsing) is a technique for accessing a collection of information represented using a faceted classification. This allows users to explore by filtering. Faceted classification systems allow assignment of classifications, enabling the classifications to be ordered in multiple ways, rather than in a single, pre-determined order. Each facet typically corresponds to the possible values of a property/attribute common to a set of objects.
Given faceted search/analysis over multiple attributes, the user interaction conventionally involves selecting one or more values from a list of possible values of a facet as calculated by the selection of other facets. This interactive behavior involves responding to selection of a facet value from one of many values that the user interface shows the user, based on the user's previous facet selections. Some non-limiting examples of conventional faceted search tools include faceted search tools developed by the University of California at Berkley (the Flamenco Search Interface Project) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (the Relation Browser tool for faceted search).